| Coelioxys banksi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Female | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Megachilidae |
| Genus: | Coelioxys |
| Species: | C. banksi |
| Binomial name | |
| Coelioxys banksi Crawford, 1914 | |
Coelioxys banksi is a species of leafcutter bees in the family Megachilidae. [1] [2] [3] It is a parasite of Megachile relativa nests. [4]
Megachile rotundata, the alfalfa leafcutting bee, is a European bee that has been introduced to various regions around the world. As a solitary bee species, it does not build colonies or store honey, but is a very efficient pollinator of alfalfa, carrots, other vegetables, and some fruits. Because of this, farmers often use M. rotundata as a pollination aid by distributing M. rotundata prepupae around their crops. Each female constructs and provisions her own nest, which is built in old trees or log tunnels. Being a leafcutter bee, these nests are lined with cut leaves. These bees feed on pollen and nectar and display sexual dimorphism. This species has been known to bite and sting, but it poses no overall danger unless it is threatened or harmed, and its sting has been described as half as painful as a honey bee's.
Megachilidae is a cosmopolitan family of mostly solitary bees. Characteristic traits of this family are the restriction of their pollen-carrying structure to the ventral surface of the abdomen, and their typically elongated labrum. Megachilid genera are most commonly known as mason bees and leafcutter bees, reflecting the materials from which they build their nest cells ; a few collect plant or animal hairs and fibers, and are called carder bees, while others use plant resins in nest construction and are correspondingly called resin bees. All species feed on nectar and pollen, but a few are kleptoparasites, feeding on pollen collected by other megachilid bees. Parasitic species do not possess scopae. The motion of Megachilidae in the reproductive structures of flowers is energetic and swimming-like; this agitation releases large amounts of pollen.
The genus Megachile is a cosmopolitan group of solitary bees, often called leafcutter bees or leafcutting bees; it also includes the called resin bees and mortar bees. While other genera within the family Megachilidae may chew leaves or petals into fragments to build their nests, certain species within Megachile neatly cut pieces of leaves or petals, hence their common name. This is one of the largest genera of bees, with more than 1500 species in over 50 subgenera. The alfalfa leafcutter bee is managed on a commercial scale for crop pollination, and has been introduced by humans to various regions around the world.
Megachile angelarum is a species of bee in the Megachilidae family.
Coelioxys, common name leaf-cutting cuckoo bees or sharp-tailed bees, is a genus of solitary kleptoparasitic cuckoo bees belonging to the family Megachilidae.
Megachile melanophaea is a species of leaf-cutter bee in the family Megachilidae. It was first described by the British zoologist Frederick Smith in 1853. It is native to North America.
Hoplitis anthocopoides is a species in the family Megachilidae, in the order Hymenoptera . The distribution range of Hoplitis anthocopoides includes Africa, Europe, Northern Asia, and North America.
Triepeolus is a genus of cuckoo bees in the family Apidae. There are at least 140 described species in Triepeolus. The majority of species whose life history is known are kleptoparasitic in the nests of bees in the tribe Eucerini, especially the genera Melissodes and Svastra.
Stelis perpulchra is a species of cuckoo bee in the family Megachilidae. It is found in Central America and North America.
Anthidiini is a tribe of insects in the family Megachilidae. There are at least 40 genera and 840 described species in Anthidiini. There is strong evidence that the tribe is monophyletic.
Lithurgopsis apicalis, the orange-tipped woodborer, is a species of woodborer bee in the family Megachilidae. Adults commonly visit flowers of Cactaceae, Malvaceae, and Asteraceae, with nests built in stalks of Agave.
Lithurgopsis is a genus of northern cactus woodborers in the family Megachilidae. There are at least nine described species in Lithurgopsis.
Dianthidium simile is a species of leafcutter, mason, and resin bees in the family Megachilidae. It is found in North America.
Dianthidium is a genus of leafcutter, mason, and resin bees in the family Megachilidae. There are at least 20 described species in Dianthidium.
Stelis interrupta is a species of cuckoo bee in the family Megachilidae. It is found in North America.
Stelis is a genus of kleptoparasitic cuckoo bees in the family Megachilidae. There are at least 100 described species in Stelis.
Osmia foxi is a species of mason bees in the family Megachilidae. It is found in New Mexico and southeastern Arizona in the United States and in Sonora, Mexico.
Osmiini is a tribe of leafcutter, mason, and resin bees in the family Megachilidae. There are about 19 genera and at least 1,000 described species in Osmiini.
Camponotus quercicola is a species of ant in the family Formicidae that is endemic to California and commonly nests in oak trees, as they usually inhabit oak forests.
Sphecodes mandibularis is a species of sweat bee in the family Halictidae.